Blogs and Commentary

Weekend Watch: US Lacrosse Convention, NLL Week 2, MLL
Draft

Most of the US Lacrosse staff has either already arrived or is
soon heading up Interstate-95 North from Baltimore to Philadelphia
this weekend, for the US Lacrosse National Convention, presented by
Champion, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

It's annually USL's biggest event, and the largest
professional development and networking event in the lacrosse
world. Upwards of 5,000 lacrosse coaches, officials,
administrators, trainers, players and fans are expected in
attendance.

Current ESPN NFL analyst Herm Edwards, the former Philadelphia
Eagles player and New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs coach, will
deliver the convention's keynote address at 7 p.m. Friday. Former
four-time Super Bowl referee Jerry Markbreit will speak at 5 p.m.
Saturday.

And there's a seemingly endless lineup of speakers, presenters
and live field demonstrations from big names, such as John
Danowski, Kelly Amonte Hiller and new Team USA coach Richie Meade,
to name only a few.

Fan Fest is also open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday. There will be live demos from the U.S. National teams and
Philadelphia Wings, plus an appearance by Brandon Routh, the star
of the feature film "Crooked Arrows."

If you can't make it, the Lacrosse Magazine staff will provide
updates throughout the weekend in our live blog on LaxMagazine.com. You'll find
insight straight from the convention center and can keep up to date
on what's going on.

Our NLL writer Neil Stevens has a comprehensive look at trending
leaguewide storylines in his weekly notebook, which you can expect
throughout the duration of the season. And don't forget about his
recap on the league's season-opening game last
Sunday, a Calgary comeback win over defending league champ
Toronto.

MLL Draft

College lacrosse's biggest names will be up for grabs Friday
night Major League Lacrosse's second annual pre-college season
draft, held at the USL National Convention. For a primer, here's a comprehensive draft preview of likely
first-round picks, and beyond. A spoiler alert: Rob Pannell is all
but officially going No. 1 to the Long Island Lizards, but then the
drama begins. We'll have a live blog.